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Almost every objective expert I’ve listened to or read after the race has said similar – almost impossible for Townend to know the horse was injured until slowing down after the line
However, that won’t be the narrative of those seeking to attack the sport because of the tragic, accidental death of the horse.
I hope Townend has some security tomorrow.
There are many clips on YT and there is also that interview with James Given which doesn’t tell really much.
There are one or two interesting comments below, like:
BHA cant decide how many strikes of the whip are used until the following Tuesday. But Given can give the all clear to Townend in 5 minutes here.
Yes, how is this possible just minutes after the race?
And there was another interesting comment worth talking about, imo:
4 horses bled at Aintree yesterday. 2 of them Dan Skelton. Is Given looking into that? Why was known bleeder Il Est Francais allowed to run over National fences today? Ditto Hitman with his breathing issues? Given is a joke.
Is further information available?
I’ve now seen still photos on Facebook of the last jump … one in particular shows his hind legs completely sprawled out behind him completely touching the ground in a most unnatural way – to my mind it shows a leg/pelvic injury was definitely on the cards …
And why Paul Townend didn’t notice that in the heat of the action while trying to gather his horse together, I really don’t know.
Because it’s happened umpteen times before without the horse suffering an injury ?
Do people expect mandatory PU after a mistake at a fence ?
I agree Griff11. The horse had clearly lost his action. If the man who was riding him couldn’t feel what everyone else could see, he shouldn’t be riding. Often you see “rider looked down as if something was amiss” in reports of horses pulled up. Townend never stopped riding to check the horse was OK. In all my 50+ years of watching racing, it was the most sickening thing I’ve ever seen.
I have noticed that several horses reported deceased have “found to be lame post race” after finishing their final races lately. Don’t recall this being an issue in the past. Perhaps racing authorities should be concentrating on educating jockeys to pull injured horses up rather than harping on about the whip or tinkering with fences.
Well, was out and missed the racing this afternoon but heart sank when got home and saw RUK didn’t have the 2.20 available on replays, presumed there had been a fatality. Just catching up on itv now, and it’s painfully obvious that poor Gold Dancer suffered an injury at the last fence. Sickening to see and can’t fathom that it appeared to be unnoticed by the jockey until Harry Cobden had a word after the line. Sours the whole meeting.
Just look at the HRI List published here every week. You see a lot of deceased horses that have finished their last race not too long ago, but appear 3-4 weeks later on this very same list.
In-running comments like: Took keen hold, in rear, headway after 4f, lost position halfway, weakened over 3f out (jockey said mare ran keen early on and then hung right)
The horse in question finished the race beaten 103 lengths and was listed as dead three weeks after. I think when a horse shows signs of pain or fatigue it might hang to it’s right/left while trying to minimize the pain.
Not sure Aintree can afford another fatality tomorrow. Another Celebre d’Allene type incident really would send the once a year commentators into a frenzy. One of the reasons I hate this time of year.
Remembering that last fence mistake with a horse Rachel Blackmore was riding a few years ago maybe the rules of racing meant that Townend was concentrating on not letting his legs touch the ground and then gathering the horse up. As with other accidents it’s like something split second but happening in slow motion; it’s probably all a blur to Townend I would imagine. Had he fallen off the poor horse would still have died unless, perhaps the injury to his back was exacerbated by still having a jockey on his back urging him on. Either way it was like one of those awful times when you’re so relieved to see a horse get up after a fall only to realise it’s badly injured but still running. Only, in this case it still had a jockey on its back. And after such a brilliant round of jumping, too. Awful, just awful.
Ridiculous comments post race: The horse didn’t break it’s back when in a canter/trot just because Townend took a pull on the rein. Come on, this is pure comedy. How many broken backs would we see on a single race day???? This is getting pathetic if you don’t have the courage to stand up and admit you’ve got it wrong.
I just want to see one top jockey admitting one such mistake. But, the autopsy will tell us more.Horses are such amazing creatures; a curious mix of strength, speed, sensitivity and fragility. Racing them brings moments of immense beauty and joy, but also horrible lows like the loss of Gold Dancer.
I think that these incidents are sadly an unavoidable reality of racing these wonderful but delicate creatures. Jockeys face such a difficult task in making sure they ask enough of their horse to get the best from it, while avoiding asking for too much.
We also have to factor in that this is all taking place in a matter of seconds, and that it is happening in the heat of the action. It is so much easier to make judgements with the benefit of hindsight, or while watching from outside events.
How bad does a mistake need to be to make pulling up a definite requirement? Sometimes a visually ugly mistake can be harmless, whereas the most innocuous looking error can prove fatal. Pulling up all horses that make mistakes would make racing impossible.
I do not believe any jockey would have pulled up Gold Dancer in the specific scenario that arose, and do not think Paul Townend should be being criticised for how subsequent events played out. I hope he is OK tonight, and my condolences to all Gold Dancer’s connections.
RIP Gold Dancer
I was being sarcastic Tonge.
I don’t think Townend should be castigated by the armchair warriors with degrees in hindsight.
Unlike us, he didn’t see the extent of the mistake. With adrenaline in full flow, his focus would have been staying onboard, collecting up his horse after losing all momentum and seeing the winning post in front, would know that the other horses would be closing behind.
In the heat of the moment he wouldn’t have been expected to do a full veterinary check up before proceeding.
Watching the race, my first thought when he got going again was, “He’ll be sore in the morning”. Not once did I think the horse had broken his pelvis or back, or would shortly be dead as a result.
Unlike some on here, I don’t know what Townend ‘felt’ from the horse, but I doubt it was, “Bugger, I think he’s broken his back, but I’m going to carry on regardless”.
If he’d immediately pulled the horse up and it had walked back OK, some angry punters would have been demanding answers, if not trying to string him up.
“In the heat of the moment he wouldn’t have been expected to do a full veterinary check up before proceeding.”
Remember, it is not so long ago that jockeys were able to remount, when they couldn’t have possibly known if the horse was sound or not.
The incident with Gold Dancer was a very unfortunate accident. I think racing has to recognise the “optics” look bad but I am hopeful the public will realise it was an accident and see through the obvious attempts by animal rights groups and sections of the media to use it to advance their anti-racing and betting agenda.
Moehat, Kauto Star was found to be injured after he was remounted in a race in 2005, and this led to the rules around remounting being strengthened. However, it was not until 2009 that a full ban was introduced.
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